WEBVTT
AMANDA: THIS IS T TRACK THOMAS
REED'S WAS WORKING SO HARD TO
REBUILD, BUT HE NEVER SAW IT
OFFICIALLY OPEN.
HE WAS KILLED THE NIGHT BEFORE
THEY WERE SCHEDULED TO UNLOCK
THE GATES.%
>> HE WOULD RUN THE GATE.
THAT WAS HIS JOB.
YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON HIM.
AMANDA: ANTHONY SARGENT TELLS ME
THIS TRACK WILL NEVER BE THE
SAME, WITHOUT HIS FRIEND, THOMAS
REECE.
>> HE WAS ALWAYS HELPING KIDS.
THERE WAS TIME HE TOOK PARTS AND
HELPED KIDS WHO DIDN'T HAVE
ENOUGH MONEY TO GET INTO THE
SPORT.
AMANDA: TOGETHER, THEY WERE
READY TO RE-OPEN THIS BMX COURSE
IN DAYTONA BEACH.
BUT REECE AND HIS SUMMER WERE IN
A HIT-AND-RUN CRASH SATURDAY
NIGHT ON I-4.
A DRIVER SIDE-SWIPED THEM,
SENDING THEIR VEHICLE INTO A
DITCH.
REESE WAS KILLED, HIS 9-YEAR-OLD
BOY SURVIVED.
>> WE ARE DOING THIS TOGETHER.
I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO AMANDA:
THE DAY AFTER, SARGENT
RELUCTANTLY OPENED, LETTING KIDS
RIDE AND HELPING THEM LEARN.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HIS FRIEND
AND PARTNER, REECE WOULD HAVE
WANTED.
>> THE WAS JUST A THAT WAY.
HE HELPED EVERYBODY.
IT IS A GREAT LOSS TO OUR SPORT.
IT WILL BE FELT FOR QUITE SOME
TIME.

A Volusia County father was killed in a hit-and-run crash the night before his race track was scheduled to reopen.

Thomas Reece, 47, died Saturday night on I-4 after a vehicle sideswiped his SUV. Reece’s 9-year-old son survived.

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"I’ve known him for years in the BMX community," said Anthony Sargent. "He was a friend. He was a partner in getting this track back together."

Sargent spoke to WESH 2 News from the newly remodeled track at Robert Strickland Park in Daytona Beach.

"We were doing this together, so I don’t really know where to go from here," Sargent said, his eyes filling with tears.

Reece and Sargent were together on Saturday afternoon, a few hours before the crash, working on the track and watching Reece’s son test it out.

"He did see his son ride it," Sargent said. "He knew it was ready to be open and there would be riders on it. We reluctantly opened on Sunday, because that’s what he would have wanted."

Sargent said Reece had big plans for the track, and he hopes to move forward with everything his friend envisioned.

Authorities are still searching for the driver responsible for the crash. They’re looking for a white Chevy Malibu that is missing one headlight. The car’s front quarter panel is a darker color and it has damage to the passenger side.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call 407-737-2213, or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.